Contact: William Jeynes, 714-901-4274, 714-397-7763, whjharvard@post.harvard.edu

LONG BEACH, Calif., Dec. 10 /Christian Newswire/ -- William Jeynes, Professor of Education at California State University, Long Beach and a Harvard University graduate announced the publication of a new groundbreaking book, which examines the need for character education and a moment of silence in the schools. In this book, "A Call for Character Education and Prayer in the Schools" (Praeger), Jeynes, an educational historian and researcher, asserts that the United States has paid a major moral price for U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1962 and 1963 that removed prayer and Bible reading from the public schools. The significance of this book is highlighted by the fact that, William Murray, the son of the famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hare, wrote the forward for the book.

In this book, Dr. Jeynes asserts that in the aftermath of these court rulings, the nation endured one of the worst and longest sustained increases in juvenile crime in history. Jeynes notes, "Schools have undergone a substantial transformation in the last 40 or 45 years. There are challenges and problems that schools face today that would have been unfathomable four or five decades ago....A seemingly interminable number of statistics testify to the fact that American school children are in trouble."

Dr. Jeynes presents research that:

• Traces the history of character education from the early settlers to Thomas Jefferson to DeWitt Clinton to Horace Mann
   
• Examines the circumstances leading up to and including the 1962 and 1963 Supreme Court decisions removing prayer and Bible reading out of the public schools
   
• Addresses how these decisions caused character education to diminish and virtually disappear from the public schools
   
• Observes how the near absence of character education and religious expression has been a major factor contributing to the United States' moral decay since 1962 and 1963
   
• Indicates that it is imperative that the United States re-introduce character education and acceptance of people of faith.

He avers that it is "implausible to argue against character education simply because one does not like religion, especially when those who advocate character instruction desire that the curriculum be nonreligious in nature." Dr. Jeynes adds, "It is crucial that schools not send an antireligious message that would neutralize any positive effects that moral instruction would have." He believes that in order to honor the nation's claim that it honors religious freedom, public schools should allow a moment of silence, so that students can pray, reflect, or clear their minds.

Dr. Jeynes is a well-known author, researcher, and public speaker. He has spoken in 47 states and in every inhabited continent.  He has spoken for the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Education,  the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,  Harvard University, and the Harvard Family Research Project. He may be interviewed or contacted at (714) 901-4274 or (714) 397-7763 or at whjharvard@post.harvard.edu.